Three Symposia on granular or porous issues have already been held in Reggio Calabria
with the participation of many outstanding scholars in the field. The new proposed
Symposium will be an occasion to enhance the scientific debate about the construction
of mathematical models for the description of the physical behaviour of soils,
as well as about the suggestions obtained from the micro-mechanical observation
of the matter.

The attention will be focused on the comparison between the appropriateness of models
and the needs of mathe- matics to get rigorous results. Skills from applied mathematical
physics, geotechnical engineering and mechanics are then involved. It is well known
that granular matter displays, in fact, subtle complexity.
Phenomena like strain localization, liquefaction of solids, cyclic mobility,
effects of diagenesis, weathering, compaction and segregation may imply
sophisticated models and sometime ren- der questionable traditional approaches.
Moreover, these models suggest non-trivial mathematical problems that are
interesting per se. Engineering requests of applicability need also to be
satisfied for civil and geotechnical purposes. All these issues may be open to
discussion during the Symposium, though the emphasis will be on modelling:
higher order continua, incrementally nonlinear laws and micro-mechanical
considerations must be taken into account.

Guest speakers will present complementary issues from the fields of geotechnical
engineering, statistical physics and applied mathematics that can be considered
together as a short advanced course on the topic.
Regular presentations are also intended to cover fields from mathematical physics
to civil and geotechnical engineering, with the discussion of theoretical,
numerical and experimental results.

MAIN TOPICS:

continuum modelling;

mechanics of porous materials;

multiphase flows;

discrete element modelling;

micro-macro in soil-mechanics;

granular flows;

transport phenomena in particulate materials;

hydro-thermo-chemo mechanical coupling;

laboratory testing and modelling;

mechanics of saturated and unsaturated soils.

CONTRIBUTIONS:
Those interested in submitting technical
contributions related to the proposed topics are
invited to send an abstract prior to the deadline
of December 10, 2017.

Abstracts, in English and in pdf format, should be submitted to Prof. Giuseppe Mortara,
email giuseppe.mortara@unirc.it, typed on
a single sheet of A4 paper; they must include (i) title, (ii) name of the Author(s),
(iii) full address of the corresponding Author including email address.
The decision of the Scientific Committee will be communicated to Authors before the
end of 2017.
Complete papers should not exceed 8 pages including figures and references.
All papers will be peer-reviewed before final approval for publication in a
Springer journal indexed by Scopus.
Moreover, the International Journal of Solids and Structures (IJSS) will publish
a special issue containing full-length papers selected by the Scientific Committee
from all the manuscripts accepted for presentation to the Symposium.
The invited extended papers will undergo the standard peer review process
after regular submission on the journal website.
All the papers will be published with the assumption that at least one of the paper
authors will register to the conference. English will be the official Symposium language.

INFORMATION

Secretariat

Conference fees (EUR)

Type

Early

Regular

Late

Full

400

500

600

Reduced

200

250

300

Accompanying

150

150

150

Early: before February 28, 2018;Regular: from March 1, 2018 to April 30, 2018;Late: after April 30, 2018.

The full registration fees include: welcome cocktail, conference banquet,
lunches and coffee breaks. The reduced registration fees apply to PhD
students and Post-Doc scholars and do not include the conference banquet.
The participation fee for the conference banquet can be paid separately.
The accompanying persons’ registration fees include the welcome cocktail,
the conference banquet and a guided tour of the Museum of Reggio Calabria
that hosts the world famous Bronzes of Riace. A maximum of one paper at
the most can be presented on payment of a single registration fee.

Please subscribe to the symposium mailing list to receive updates
on the registration and submission process.

Cancellation policy

Cancellation of registration must be communicated to the Secretariat.
50% of the fee is refundable before April 30, 2018.

Reggio Calabria

Reggio Calabria is located on the “toe of the boot”
(the southern tip of Italy) and is separated from Sicily by the Strait of Messina.
The prestigious National Archaeological Museum of Magna Grecia hosts the famous Bronzes
of Riace, the symbols of the city. The Reggio Calabria waterfront is known as the
“the most beautiful kilometre of Italy”.

The climate is typically Mediterranean and is warm to moderately hot in
the period chosen for the conference.

Hotel room rates for B&B per day (EUR)

Room types: single (S), double single use (DSU), double (D).
Rates apply from May 27 to June 3, 2018.
Hotel promotional code: microtomacro2018.

GENERAL LECTURES

The programme is based on eight general lectures based on the main topics.
The lectures will be given by:

Edward Andò (Laboratoire 3SR)

Diego Berzi (Polytechnic of Milano)

Itai Einav (University of Sidney)

Guy Houlsby (University of Oxford)

Vanessa Magnanimo (University of Twente)

Farhang Radjai (University of Montpellier)

Tim Ricken (University of Dortmund)

Jean Nöel Roux (Université Paris-Est)

There will be four round-table discussions about mathematical models,
physical behaviour, computational methods and experimental validations.
Submitted papers will be presented there: Authors and Participants are invited
to join in the subsequent discussion.